Chapter 8: Stranger Than Fiction (2)

The woman stood straight, her golden hair neatly tied back.

Despite wearing casual clothes, she exuded a heroic spirit, out of place in this filthy area.

“Too slow.”

She held her bag in one hand and placed the other on her hip, showing a slightly displeased expression.

“You came too early, Olivia.”

“I just finished a job in the adjacent block early this morning, so I dropped by to see you.”

Olivia signaled to Bres with her eyes.

“Aren’t you going to let me in?”

Bres sighed and moved aside, and Olivia strode into the room.

As soon as she entered, Olivia frowned.

“It’s still this messy after all these years.”

She wrinkled her brow, wiped her finger across the cabinet, then quickly flicked off the dust, speaking with disdain.

“Is that always your opening line? Can’t you come up with something new?”

“It’s because—”

Olivia stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“Why is there a gun on the floor?”

“Huh?”

Bres quickly looked at the floor.

A black T12 pistol lay quietly on the ground.

‘Where did that girl Qiao Anni get that from?’

“Th-this is my new pistol! I accidentally dropped it! Good thing I found it…”

“But you already used a T12, didn’t you?”

“B-better safe than sorry! It’s always good to have a spare! Hahaha…”

Bres forced a laugh and stuffed the pistol into its holster.

Olivia didn’t say anything more.

The two sat down on the sofa. While the water in the kettle hadn’t completely cooled yet, Bres poured a cup of coffee for Olivia.

She took only a simple sip and set it on the table.

“Any trouble on the way here?”

“Ran into a few thugs with no eyes. I dealt with them.”

Although Olivia said it lightly, Bres could imagine the fate of those unlucky punks.

They were probably beaten black and blue, then stuffed into a trash can by the roadside.

“…You should wear your work uniform. That might cause less trouble.”

“Then there would be even more trouble. How would the Lower District welcome us?”

“So why did you come to see me?”

“Just… to check on how you’re doing.”

“Seen enough?”

“Yeah. Still as bad as before.”

“Thanks for the review. If there’s nothing else, I’ll—”

“Wait!”

Olivia called out to Bres, who was about to stand up.

“About my previous proposal… won’t you reconsider?”

Her voice trembled slightly.

“I told you, didn’t I? I can’t do it. It’s that simple.”

Bres answered curtly, even resolutely.

For a moment, the room was filled only with the emotionless voice of the morning news anchor from the TV.

“…This concludes the morning news. Have a pleasant morning.”

With the end of the TV program, the stalemate also came to a close.

“I understand,” Olivia let out a long breath. “But I won’t give up.”

“Neither will I,” Bres replied expressionlessly.

Just as Olivia stood up to turn and leave, an accident happened.

With a dull thud, her bag knocked over the water glass, spilling the remaining coffee all over Olivia’s pants.

“Olivia! Are you okay?”

Bres tried to check on her, but Olivia waved her hand to stop him.

“I’m fine.”

She said calmly.

“It’s not hot anymore. Just my pants are dirty. I’ll borrow your restroom—”

“No!”

The words slipped out instinctively.

“Why?”

Olivia was puzzled.

“Because… the restroom is broken. The toilet is clogged again!”

“But I just need to use the sink.”

Olivia was even more confused.

“And if it were clogged, the smell would be all over the house, right? But there’s only a musty smell in here…”

“Just don’t use the restroom here!”

Bres directly blocked the restroom door, his expression resolute.

“…Did you do something in there?”

“Nothing!”

That only increased Olivia’s suspicion.

She began to look around the room, and finally, her gaze landed on the bag of medicine.

Bres’s heart sank.

‘Damn, how could I forget about this.’

“Are you sick?”

Olivia picked up a box of medicine and examined it, then froze.

“Neural Blocker? Why did you buy this?”

She demanded harshly.

“These are all controlled substances!”

“What?”

‘Thanks a lot, Yifulin.’

Olivia didn’t stop her actions.

“And sedatives… What did you do? Why would you need these?”

“I use them myself, okay?”

“Nonsense! You don’t have any cybernetic implants. Why would you need these?”

“I…”

“Just a few years, and how… how did you become like this?”

Her voice even carried a hint of tears.

‘Well, there’s no way to explain this now.’

Olivia stared hard at Bres, or more precisely, at the restroom behind him.

“Move.”

She stepped closer step by step.

“Sorry, I can’t do that.”

Bres showed a look of defiance.

Olivia threw her bag on the ground and assumed a fighting stance.

“Then I’ll have to use force.”

“Come on, is it really necessary?”

“I can’t watch you go down the wrong path!”

“I told you I didn’t—”

Seeing Olivia getting closer, Bres had no choice.

“Fine, I surrender.”

He raised his hands and moved aside.

Olivia watched him warily as he pressed against the wall, then she inched toward the restroom door.

She reached out her hand toward the restroom door.

Just as her hand touched the door handle, Bres suddenly lunged at Olivia.

Slap! Bang!

“Ahh!”

As if she had expected it, Olivia easily dodged the attack, then grabbed Bres and threw him over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground.

“My back! My back!”

Looking at Bres writhing on the ground, Olivia dusted off her hands.

“Not bad timing, but your skills have deteriorated too much. Besides, you’ve never beaten me before.”

As she spoke, Olivia pulled open the restroom door, then froze.

“Oh, she’s gone—”

A black-haired girl was sitting on the toilet lid, staring at Olivia with curiosity.

“Um… who are you?”

The girl blinked and asked.

Olivia didn’t answer.

She was too shocked to speak.

Her gaze traveled down the girl’s face, finally stopping at her neck.

There, something like a collar hung.

Looking further down, the girl was thinly dressed, her body wrapped in layers of bandages.

She turned her head stiffly like a robot, looking at Bres struggling on the floor behind her.

Her eyes were like sharp knives, cutting into Bres again and again.

Bres silently covered his face.

“I said I could explain all this… would you believe me?”